I gotta warn you in advance…I am biased towards Kenny Rogers. The living legend, with his iconic voice, is one of my all-time favorites, despite him almost taking out my expensive camera last year at CMA Fest when he threw an autographed tambourine at me while I was trying to take pictures! Luckily I looked up from the camera just in time to catch it and now have an awesome souvenir and story to tell!
Kenny Rogers’ new album You Can’t Make Old Friends hits stores today. It kicks off with the title track, a duet with his long-time friend and former duet partner Dolly Parton. It’s hard to believe that it’s been thirty years since “Islands in the Stream” hit the top of the charts! It’s great to hear them sing together and a good way to get the album started.
A couple of tracks later you’ll run into a song called “You Had to Be There.” If country radio was ever going to play a new Kenny Rogers song, this is the one. In typical Kenny Rogers fashion, it’s a great story-telling song that’ll tug on the heartstrings, with lyrics such as “You had to be there, and I’m talkin’ from day 1, that’s the only time a dad should talk through glass to his new son,” as an absentee father visits his 21-year old son in prison.
The fourth track on the album, “‘Merica,” has a loungy feel to it, then the tone changes with “Turn This World Around” as it cranks it up a notch with a dark, edgy rock sound to it.
“Dreams of the San Joaquin” is a beautiful story-telling song with a Mexican flare to it, complete with the final verse sung in Spanish. This one just might give “You Had To Be There” a challenge as my favorite song on the album.
“Don’t Leave Me in the Night Time” is a unique song that features Buckwheat Zydeco on the accordian. With the different instrumentation and lyrics, I conjured up images of Sara Evans, Faith Hill, and The Mavericks at different parts throughout the song. Take a listen and you’ll see why!
Two wonderful ballads, “Look at You” and “When You Love Someone,” help bring this great album to a close.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album. It was a nice blend of ballads and upbeat songs with a wide range of influences from other genres including Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, and even Latin. It’s not often that a 75-year old can still make GOOD music that is relevant and modern. This is a must-have for your CD collection if you’re a Kenny Rogers fan!